When hip-hop culture was created, in the 70’s in the Bronx, New York, its creators took a run-down part of the city and filled it with artistic elements. The four classic parts of hip-hop are: graffiti, dancing, beats and rhymes. But these days, in Seattle, Washington, the culture has expanded into visual arts like fashion design, photography and multimedia. The duo Fresh Espresso, made up of Rik Rude and P Smoov, consider themselves to be part of a collective of artists working all kinds of creations.

In this interview P Smoov talks about getting his start making beats, how he wrote one of his most popular songs while homeless and living in an abandoned building and also gives advice to artists who just starting out.

Listen to this KEXP Documentary:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Fresh Espresso play the Capitol Hill Block Party on Sunday, July 25th! KEXP Documentaries are created by Michele Myers. With assistance from John Felthous. Executive Producer is Kevin Cole. If you would like to follow along in the creation of these radio stories, we post research materials, songs and videos on our Facebook page and on Twitter.